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Colour: Design Standard for the Federal Identity Program

Specific colours, colour values and production processes must be used when reproducing the Canada wordmark, corporate signatures and ministerial signatures and when manufacturing various forms of government signage.

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Standard colours

  • Canada wordmark: FIP red flag symbol, black type
  • Flag signatures: FIP red flag symbol, black type
  • Arms signatures: black arms of Canada, black type
  • Ministerial signatures: pewter grey arms of Canada, black type

Figure 1 shows the Government of Canada signature and the Canada wordmark in the standard colours.

Figure 1. Government of Canada signature (left) and Canada wordmark (right) in the standard colours

The Government of Canada signature and the Canada wordmark in black type with a FIP red flag symbol

Colour palette and colour values

The colour palette for the Canada wordmark, corporate signatures and ministerial signatures is as follows and is shown in Figure 2:

  • FIP red
  • black
  • white
  • pewter grey

Figure 2. Colour palette for the Canada wordmark, corporate signatures and ministerial signatures (from left to right: FIP red, black, white and pewter grey)

The standard colours for the official symbols

Table 1 shows the colour values for the colours to be used for the Canada wordmark, corporate signatures and ministerial signatures in the different production processes.

Table 1. Colour values for the Canada wordmark, corporate signatures and ministerial signatures
Colour Pantone CMYK RGB Vinyl
FIP red 032 0, 100, 100, 0 235, 45, 55 3M 7725-13
Black Process black 0, 0, 0, 100 0, 0, 0 3M 7725-12
White Process white 0, 0, 0, 0 255, 255, 255 3M 7725-10
Pewter grey 429 0, 0, 0, 40 150, 150, 150 Not applicable

Non-standard colours

The Canada wordmark, corporate signatures and ministerial signatures may appear in colours other than the standard colours when a higher level of contrast with the background is needed or when a single colour is used in a product.

Reversed colour versions

The reversed colour versions of the Canada wordmark, corporate signatures and ministerial signatures are the versions in which the letters are in white and the flag symbol is in FIP red (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. Reversed colour versions of Government of Canada signature and Canada wordmark on a black background

The Government of Canada signature (left) and the Canada wordmark (right) in white type with a FIP red flag symbol on a black background

Black and white versions

The Canada wordmark, corporate signatures and ministerial signatures may appear in all black or all white (see Figure 4) in cases where mandatory colours are not specified.

Figure 4. Government of Canada signature and Canada wordmark in black (top) and white (bottom)

The Government of Canada signature (left) and the Canada wordmark (right) in black type with a black flag symbol on a white background and in white type with a white flag symbol on a black background

One-colour reproductions

The Canada wordmark, corporate signatures and ministerial signatures may appear in another colour if that colour is the only colour used in the product. See Figure 5 for an example.

Figure 5. Example of a one-colour reproduction in which all the design elements are purple

Example of a one-colour reproduction of a print product. All design elements are in purple including the Government of Canada signature and Canada wordmark.

Colour pairing

When the Canada wordmark and corporate signature or ministerial signature appear together:

  • the type colour must be the same
  • the colour of the flag symbol in the flag signature must be the same as the flag symbol in the wordmark

See Figures 6 and 7 for examples of correct and incorrect application of colour pairing.

Figure 6. Examples of correct and incorrect application of colour pairing with respect to type colour

Example of correct colour pairing (the text in the arms signature and in the Canada wordmark are the same colour) Example of incorrect colour pairing (the text in the arms signature and in the Canada wordmark are different colours)
Figure 6 - Text version

The first image is an example of correct colour pairing:

  • the Copyright Board Canada arms signature is in its standard colours (black arms of Canada, black type) on a white background
  • the Canada wordmark is in black on a white background

The colour pairing is correct because the type colour is the same in both the signature and the wordmark.

The second image is an example of incorrect colour pairing:

  • the Copyright Board Canada arms signature is in its standard colours (black arms of Canada, black type) on a white background
  • the Canada wordmark is in all white on a black background

The colour pairing is incorrect because the type colour is different in the signature and the wordmark.

Figure 7. Examples of correct and incorrect application of colour pairing with respect to flag symbol colour

Example of correct colour pairing (the flag symbol and the text in the Government of Canada signature and in the Canada wordmark are the same colour) Example of incorrect colour pairing (the flag symbol in the Government of Canada signature and in the Canada wordmark are different colours)
Figure 7 - Text version

The first image is an example of correct colour pairing: the Government of Canada signature and the Canada wordmark are in their standard colours (black type, FIP red flag symbol) on a white background.

This colour pairing is correct because the type colour and the flag symbol colour are the same in both the signature and the wordmark.

The second image is an example of incorrect colour pairing:

  • the Government of Canada signature is in black on a white background
  • the Canada wordmark is in its standard colours (black type, FIP red flag symbol) on a white background

This colour pairing is incorrect because the flag symbol in the signature and the flag symbol in the wordmark are in different colours.

Colour palette and colour values for signage

The colour palette to be used for signage is as follows and is shown in Figure 8:

  • light grey
  • dark grey
  • yellow
  • blue
  • green
  • safety red

Table 2 shows the colour values for the colours to be used for signage in the different production processes.

Figure 8. Colour palette for signage (from left to right: light grey, dark grey, yellow, blue, green and safety red)

Colour palette for signage
Table 2. Colour values for signage
Colour Pantone CMYK RGB Vinyl
Light grey 428 0, 0, 0, 25 200, 200, 200 3M VE 3800
Dark grey 432 0, 0, 0, 85 75, 75, 75 3M VE-3801
Yellow 109 0, 10, 100, 0 250, 215, 20 3M 7725-15
Blue 301 100, 30, 0, 20 0, 90, 155 3M 7725-47
Green 348 100, 0, 85, 25 0, 135, 80 3M 7725-186
Safety red 185 0, 90, 75, 0 230, 15, 45 3M 7725-13

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